Low Fat Baked Jalapeno Poppers
Jalapenos are the most popular chile peppers in the US. This is probably due to the availability and versatility of the chile. Jalapenos have a balanced combination of flavor and heat.
The demand for these have caused breeders to develop a broad range of varieties. You can now get jalapenos with various heat level and sizes. These can be used in salsas, stuffed, or eaten straight with cheeseburgers (my personal favorite).
Ingredients:
6 jalapeño peppers
½ cup light cream cheese
¼ cup shredded low fat sharp cheddar cheese
2 egg whites
½ cup panko bread crumbs
¼ tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
oil spray
Instructions:
Serves 4 (3 halves per person).
Assembly: Make sure to wear gloves or refrain from touching your face/eyes during the assembly process. I prefer to cook without gloves so I just wash my hands thoroughly after I’m done.
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Wash jalapeño peppers. Cut jalapeño peppers in half length wise. Scoop out the seeds & membrane (insane in the membrane!). Rinse again to make sure all seeds are removed.
In a bowl, mix cream cheese & cheddar cheese. In another bowl, mix panko bread crumbs, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Transfer to a plate.
Fill peppers with cheese filling using a spoon.* Line baking tray with foil and spray with oil (hey, that rhymes). Create an assembly line with the following items in the following order: stuffed peppers, egg whites, panko bread mixture, tray. Dip pepper in egg whites.* Coat pepper in panko bread mixture.* The top will be more heavily coated than the bottom because of the texture of the peppers.
Repeat steps 10 and 11 for each pepper. Place on tray. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden and cheese is oozing out.
*Depending on the size of your jalapeño peppers, you may have leftovers of the filling, egg whites, and panko mixture, or you may need more. My peppers were about 4 inches long.
From recipris.com